Introduction: not a normal election: roots and consequences

The March 2018 Italian general elections can be described as a historic turning point, another watershed moment in the turbulent history of contemporary Italian politics. After a stormy and complex legislative term, characterized by a variety of institutional and political phenomena, Italy has faced one of the most important electoral challenges since the return of democracy in the mid-1940s. After examining the major political events that led to the latest general elections, this introductory article presents and analyses the rules, the actors and the outcomes of the electoral contest that has seen the victory of two anti-establishment parties: the Five Star Movement and the League. In the concluding section, the article discusses the potential tensions that may emerge from the clash between the populist attitude of the new governing parties and the constitutional constraints of a liberal democratic regime.     

Timber economy in the Roman Age: charcoal data from the key site of Herculaneum (Naples,Italy)

The city of Herculaneum (Naples, southern Italy), buried by the volcanic eruption of Mount Somma-Vesuvius in 79 ad, is a key site for understanding the timber economy during the Roman period. In this paper, the results of charcoal analysis of different building element types are presented. Beams, joists, poles, planks and door and window frames were investigated allowing us a view of which timber the Romans preferred for building in this area. We also fit the taxonomic results into the reconstruction of the ancient Campanian landscape, and finally, we discuss the knowledge that the Romans had about the technological properties of the wood that they used for building and the possible selection criteria that they followed in choosing them. Coniferous timber is the preferred material for building purposes. Abies alba is especially used, this fact confirming its stronger presence in southern Italian woods during the past and suggesting that its decline is mainly due to human overexploitation. The large presence of Cupressus sempervirens, selectively used for the production of poles, confirms that this tree was cultivated in plantations for timber production in the Vesuvius area. Furthermore, it might indicate that cypress could have been present as a natural tree in the local vegetation, suggesting a forest type that nowadays almost completely disappeared from this area and from the entire Italy. The findings of Juglans regia, Pinus pinea and Olea europaea, typical elements of the Mediterranean cultural landscape, show that their use was not limited to fruit production and that Romans also appreciated their timber. Beside these local resources, the presence of Picea abies and Picea/Larix indicates the importation of timber from northerly regions, probably the northern Apennines and the Alps.     

Multiproxy approach to the study of Medieval food habits in Tuscany (central Italy)

A multiproxy approach based on archaeobotanical, organic residue and isotopic analyses was carried out on materials from 12 Medieval archaeological sites in Tuscany (central Italy), in order to provide a diachronic overview of local diet in rural and urban sites from the mid-eighth to the fourteenth centuries AD. Archaeobotanical analyses were applied to 130,578 seeds/fruits, residue analyses involved 87 samples from cooking and storing vessels, whereas analyses of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes included 63 human bone samples and 26 animal specimens. The results indicate that from the mid-eighth century AD, crop production was of high quality similar, to that of the Roman Age. The main cultivations were naked wheats, barley and horse bean, a diversity that attests the technological skills reached by Tuscan peasants during the whole Middle Ages. Different cereals and pulse abundantly supplemented the diet. This strategy not only ensured peasants’ subsistence in the mid-eighth century AD, minimizing the risks of environmental adversities, but it also increased crop production – from the mid-ninth century AD on, for the revived markets and trade. Between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries AD, C4 plants had a dominant role in the peasants’ diet, when the wheat production was strictly collected first by the landlords and then by the cities for their own needs. Crop production was integrated by swine farming; animal meat consumption is well documented in rural and urban populations from the ninth century AD. Wine and olive oil, considered important elements of diet in Medieval Tuscany, have a very scarce presence, but they are recorded for later periods, mainly in urban areas and in higher social classes, such as the religious and aristocratic ones. In fact, only between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries AD was the great expansion of olive groves and vineyards recorded, when cities and urban populations claim to have access to these luxury foods.     

The painting of the Etruscan “Tomba della Quadriga Infernale” (4th century BC), in Sarteano (Siena, Italy): technical features

This work presents the results of an investigation of the painting technique used in the Etruscan tomb “Tomba della Quadriga Infernale”. This tomb was discovered in Sarteano (Siena, Italy) in October 2003 and dated back to the second half of the 4th century BC. Red, dark red, pink, yellow, white, black, and grey colours were used in the tomb in order to create paintings, which now represent a very precious record of the Etruscan art of wall painting in a hypogeal environment. The technical features of the painting were revealed by stratigraphy using optical and electronic microscopy. The components and preparatory layers of the painted areas were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). XRD, SEM-EDS, and optical microscopic techniques were also used for mineralogical analysis of the rock substrate. The SEM-EDS and FTIR analyses showed that red and yellow ochre, calcite, and vegetable charcoal were used to paint the walls of the tomb: the pigments, either alone or mixed together, were utilized to produce pure colours (red, yellow, white, and black) and intermediate tonalities (pink, dark red, and grey). SEM-EDS, FTIR, and XRD highlighted that the painting was made on a preparatory layer of calcite, applied onto a levelling material made up of calcite, clay minerals, quartz, and iron oxides. GC/MS analyses revealed that egg was used as an organic binder to disperse the pigments.     

Persistence of the cultural landscape in Campania (Southern Italy) before the AD 472 Vesuvius eruption: archaeoenvironmental data

Cultural landscapes were prominent during the Early Roman period when agronomic knowledge allowed the spread of intensive land exploitation in most of the available land. The aim of this contribution is to explore whether for the Campania region (Southern Italy) archaeoenvironmental data would support continuity or change in the cultural landscape of Roman tradition in the 4th and 5th centuries. To do so, new data from two sites located on the northern slopes of the Vesuvius, both buried by the AD 472 eruption have been investigated. Charcoal analysis, ¹⁴C dating, and chemical analysis of organic residues were carried out in order to study the landscape and the food production at these sites. The results suggest the persistence of the Roman cultural landscape until the 4th and 5th centuries in this area. The landscape is in fact strongly marked both in agriculture and woodland exploitation and management, being characterized by managed chestnut forests as well as valuable cultivations of walnut, large vineyards, olive groves, and probably orchards and crops. The integrated approach with archaeobotanical and archaeometric analyses proves to be a powerful method for the study of the past landscapes, providing a good insight into the environment. Furthermore, this study provided the most ancient evidence of chestnut silviculture for wood.     

The Italian political system after the 9 – 10 April 2006 elections

Abstract

All recent Italian elections have produced important electoral consequences. In this brief introduction, the author highlights some of the problems, difficulties and perspectives for the Italian political system following the electoral victory of the centre-left. More precisely, he suggests that there are two complex issues in need of being analyzed and politically tackled: the revisions to be introduced into the Italian Constitution and the transformation of some Italian parties and the reorganization of the party system. In conclusion, at least in this phase, the Italian political system is bound to remain in a situation that can still be defined as an ongoing political and institutional transition.     

The Democratic Party and the restructuring of the Italian party system

Abstract

Out of a quickly performed merger between the Left Democrats and the Daisy, a new party has made its appearance in Italy: the Democratic Party (Partito Democratico – PD). In the summer of 2007 three candidates, Walter Veltroni, Rosy Bindi and Enrico Letta campaigned in order to convince sympathizers and supporters of that, yet non-existing party, that they were worthy of the office of Secretary of the PD. The election of Veltroni contributed to the already existing tensions within the centre-left governmental coalition that led to the demise of Prodi's government and to early elections. In April 2008, though receiving 33 per cent of the vote, the Democratic Party suffered a serious defeat. This article explores the reasons of the defeat and analyses its consequences on the restructuring of the Italian party system and the future of the Italian political system. Unless the Democratic Party is capable of finding an adequate organizational model and of expanding its electoral support beyond the areas of the traditional entrenchment of the former Communist party, the centre-right seems destined to guide Italian politics for some time to come.     

Duration Modeling of Spatial Point Patterns

This paper attempts to further the research by Odland and Ellis (1992) in applying event history methodology to the analysis of spatial point patterns (that is, event patterns). Its empirical focus is the event pattern derived from the adoption of an agricultural innovation, the Harvestore, in southern Ontario, Canada, from 1963 to 1986. Event history analysis involves the use of discrete-state, continuous-time stochastic models to investigate a temporal longitudinal record on discrete variables. Event history models are usually concerned with durations of time between events and the effects of intertemporal time dependencies on future event occurrences. As such, they are often referred to as duration models. Many of the methods used in event history analysis allow the use of other nonnegative interval measurements in place of standard temporal intervals to investigate a series of events. In particular, spatial intervals (or durations) of distances between events may also be accommodated by event history models. Our analysis extends the previous research of Odland and Ellis (1992) by using a wider range of parametric models to explore duration dependence, investigating the role of spatial censoring, and using a more extensive set of explanatory variables. In addition, simulation experiments and graphical tests are used to evaluate the empirical event pattern against one generated from Complete Spatial Randomness. Results indicate that the event pattern formed by the Harvestore adopter farms is clustered (that is, is described by positive duration dependency), the sales agent is a significant factor in the distribution of adopters, and that contrasting results are obtained from the analysis using censored data versus uncensored data.